


Sick of Losing Soulmates

by SumSteal1



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura & Lance (Voltron) are Siblings, Altean Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Shiro (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra Shiro (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Siblings, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) is a Ray of Sunshine, Lance (Voltron) is so Pure, M/M, May contain hurt/comfort, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, Romantic Fluff, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Some Humor, Soul Pulse, Soulmate AU, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron), may contain angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-11 22:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17455607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SumSteal1/pseuds/SumSteal1
Summary: Soul pulses. A phenomenon that took everyone in the universe by storm. Everyone except for the Galra boy, Keith. He lives a lonesome life of being an outcast for never pulsing with anyone in his life. On the road to his own demise and personal hell, he meets Lance. A weird and persistent Altean boy, who may be more than just a happy-go-lucky looking puppy.





	1. A Crack in the Glass

**Author's Note:**

> Aha haha... I have no idea what I'm doing.  
> Have a Klance soul pulse AU. It will hopefully go on for a long time.  
> Cuz I have a lot planned for this fanfic!  
> I got inspired by CrossConnectCosplay's youtube series 'Soul pulse'  
> and yall should go check that out, cuz it's top notch awesomeness!!
> 
> Also, I apologise in advance for how angsty and emo I have made Keith,  
> but I needed him to be like that for future chapters,  
> so just deal with the angst for a chapter or two!  
> It won't stay like this, I PROMISE!<33
> 
> ((The chapters might get rewritten if I end up not being happy with them later on.  
> I'm not a very good writer, and I often find mistakes in my work that I dislike.  
> The chapters won't be deleted, but I might rewrite some things I'm unhappy with it.))

For years and years now, the altean and the galra has been living in peace and harmony with each other. The Galra had been forceful to claim more of the world, which nearly ended in a war. A minor mistake on the Galra part. The Galra race, however, later regretted their actions when a war was about to break out. The Altean had always been known for their ways of peace. The story of how the Galra and the Altean race came to an understanding is a story for another day. Today the planet Altea has welcomed the Galra, and they accepted. Keith and his family were one of the few Galra who accepted the peace and joined the altean people.

At the age of 6, Keith moved to Altea with his brother Shiro and his mother. Of course as obvious as it is, their father was no longer in the picture. Needless to say this pained Keith most of all. He loved his mother and Shiro. Shiro being the big brother he was, he was the one to take care of Keith when their mother was busy with work. Which was surprisingly often. Shiro was a good brother though.

"Keith... Come on" Shiro smiled as he held out his hand. Back at their own planet, Shiro would constantly go out with Keith. Shiro prided himself in taking his little brother out to get some air, sunlight and exercise. Keith, on the other hand, would more than often hate the mere thought of going out and seeing people. He was, in fact, quite the loner type. Keith did not even register the hand Shiro held out. He went by Shiro with his hands stuck deep into his pockets. Shiro could not help but let out a small sigh as he went along. They walked down the main street. It was usually less crowded in the mornings. After people had gone through with their morning routines the different shops would open, school bells would ring, and everyone would greet each other on the street. Altea was friendly like that. Shiro usually went to get fresh bread from the bakery alone but had chosen to bring Keith along today. Keith was, however, not so thrilled.

"That grumpy look doesn't suit your face, Keith" Shiro smirked as he noticed how unhappy Keith was.

"I wanna go home" Keith mumbled, "And sleep."

"And I wanna buy 90 years worth of makeup, but we can't all get what we want, bro" Shiro laughed. He was always so cheerful. It made people want to greet him. Unlike Keith. Keith looked up at his brother with a raised eyebrow. Keith could not even begin to fathom why Shiro would need makeup. Let alone 90 years worth of it. He let out a sigh as he looked back down his feet. What Keith would give to not be outside that early in the morning. And for what? To get bread? The bread Shiro could easily get by himself. The bread their mother was too busy to eat of before going to work. That bread. Yeah, Keith hated that bread. However, it tasted decent. Alteans knew how to make bread for sure.

They walked the rest of the way to the bakery in silence. Their conversations were limited. Their interaction was limited. Since they moved to Altea, Shiro had gotten the feeling that Keith was growing distant. Shiro would, of course, continue to avoid that happening. It was not easy for someone so young to understand why he had to leave his own planet. Keith never had many friends. In fact, he never had any. But Daibazaal was their home planet. Keith and Shiro were both born there. Not on Altea. Keith never got an explanation from their mother as to why they moved to Altea. At this point in time, it did not even matter anymore.

Keith was 7 now. They had lived on the Altean planet for about a year now. Keith had started school there. Not that he liked it much. He was alone. He always was. He sat in the back. He always did. And he always spent most of his time in school, staring out of the window. Dreaming himself away.

"Oh hi boys" a female voice brought Keith out of his deep thoughts. His pace slowed down to a halt and he quickly went behind Shiro. Shiro was so quick to engage in conversation.

"Good morning Allura" Shiro smiled brightly. Keith peaked a tiny bit from behind Shiro. This time it was Shiro's turn to put his hands in his pockets. Was he really trying to look cool? Keith rolled his eyes and looked over at Allura. She was not alone. In her arms, she was carrying Lance. Lance was Allura's younger brother and about the same age as Keith. Needless to say, Keith only knew this because Shiro had told him. Not that he particularly cared. They both had light baby blue hair, and Allura had a white ribbon in her hair. Both Altean siblings were dressed in the usual blue and white Altean outfits. The Altean really liked blue, and Keith would never understand that. The Galra just wore black. Black worked best with their skin tone. Keith knew who Lance was. He had seen Lance around at school. Lance was one of the popular kids. He was always surrounded by friends or people who wanted to be his friend. The total opposite of Keith. They were like polar opposites.

Lance quickly took notice of Keith and smiled. Keith, however, retreated more behind Shiro. The last thing he wanted was to see someone from school. Perhaps Lance would just think Keith was shy.

No other words were exchanged between Shiro and Allura. After a quick greeting, Allura went on with Lance. Keith started walking ahead, while Shiro looked after Allura till she was out of his sight. That's when he realized Keith had gone ahead. He ran to catch up with Keith quickly.

"Why didn't you say hi to Lance? You guys are in the same class, right?"

"So? Why would I care" Keith sighed, "I don't know him."

"He seems pretty outgoing, why don't you try to bond with him?" Shiro raised a brow. Deep inside Shiro probably already knew why.

"Why? So he can laugh at me?" Keith shook his head.

"Why do you think he would laugh at you?" Shiro snickered.

"Because I wouldn't pulse with him. Because I'm different. He and his entire army of friends would make my life hell. Especially if they found out I don't pulse with people" Keith explained before sighing frustratedly.

"Keith... Not everybody pulses with each other. You'll pulse with someone someday. You haven't even tried..." Shiro finally sighed.

"And I don't want to! Soul pulses are stupid!" Keith growled angrily. Shiro simply sighed low as they continued to walk in silence.

It was not just one of Shiro's imaginations. Keith was growing distant day by day. He tried his best to stop it, but more than often he felt like he failed. Shiro knew Keith's fears, and they were understandable. Keith had never pulsed with a single person. Not on Daibazaal and not on Altea. It was hard for Keith. His entire childhood, from birth and until now had been like that.

What are soul pulses? Essentially, soul pulses determine most of your relations with other people. Rather it is of the same race or different races. The number of times people pulsed with others would determine rather they were compatible with each other or should stay out of each other's way. 1 to 3 times was pretty basic. Almost everyone had these. Almost. 4 to 6 times usually meant that they would be good friends. 7 to 9 times meant that they were fairly capable to date. At the very least they would become best friends. But 10 times was different. If one pulsed with someone 10 times, it meant that they were soulmates. Destined to be together.

Everyone pulsed with someone. Everyone except for Keith. Keith had never pulsed with anyone. It had reached the point where he just refused trying anymore. He stayed to himself. He made sure to never touch anyone ever. No matter the case. Because he already knew beforehand that they would never stick around if he did not pulse with them. That's how it had been so far. Few times during Keith's childhood had he touched others while playing with them in kindergarten. Of course, everyone learned about soul pulses from a young age. So naturally, they did not want to play with Keith anymore when they learned that they did not pulse with him. Keith felt the cold shoulders and uninterested stares from a young age. He despised the pulses. He had now successfully convinced himself that he would always be alone. And he was quite okay with that. He knew no one was waiting for him. Soulmates were a rare thing in the world after all. Most people settled down and married someone they pulsed with 7 to 9 times. It was normality by now. But Keith had made a promise to himself. He was never gonna let the concept of soul pulses dictate his life as most others did.

The Altean had a special word for people who pulsed 10 times. They were called Gems. Because of how rare it was. Most soulmates would never find each other, or in worst cases, one of the two would die. So the Altean people went ahead and made a term for soulmates who were together and alive. A gem. Keith and Shiro's parents had been a gem. Until their father died. Now their mother was a single mom of two. It did not stop her from spoiling her two sons, nor move up the career ladder. She was a strong and capable woman. Now the hardest part for her, however, was connecting with her youngest son.

"Welcome home boys..." Their mother greeted them as they came back from the bakery with the bread. Shiro handed the bread to their mom and she smiled in return, with a thank you. She was beyond grateful to have her sons. A proud parent at its finest. Only a few could say that.

"Keith?" she called out as Keith casually went by and headed up to his room, "Aren't you gonna have to breakfast with us?"

"Who is us? Don't you have work again?" Keith said coldly as he went to his room and closed the door behind him. He wanted to be alone. The conversation he had with Shiro earlier had left him in a bad mood. His mother sighed low before looking at Shiro. She often looked to Shiro for help. They were brothers and both boys. If Keith was going through stuff, Shiro could help. At least in most cases. In other cases, Shiro was as lost as their mom.

 

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

 

Needless to say, Another 5 years went by day by day. Keith was now 12 years old. Each day felt worse than the previous one for him. Just when he felt like things were going right, something bad had to happen. A few weeks earlier he had accidentally touched a girls hand. He did not pulse with her. As expected. The girl had been kind enough to not say anything. But it did not take long for a rumour to spread. Who knew kids could be so cruel. After that, Shiro was there to hold it all together most days. But other days it just was not that easy.

Shiro kneeled down and gently knocked on the wooden door to the closet in Keith's room. These days that's where Keith seemed to spend most of his time. The door was gently pushed open a slight bit to reveal Keith inside.

"Hey there buddy," Shiro said as he opened the closet door more, "Wanna head to the park for a bit?"

"No" Keith simply answered and continued reading in one of his books. Keith had made his own little nest in the closet. He was comfy in a fort of pillows and blankets taken from his bed. And the fort was completed with Cosmo sleeping soundly by Keith's feet. Their mom had brought cosmo home a while back. She truly thought it would give Keith a reason to get out of the house and meet people. It did not. In fact, Keith had more contact with Cosmo than with any other living breathing being out there.

"Well... I need to take Cosmo out for a walk" Shiro sighed. He was not gonna force Keith to leave his safe space, "How was school?"

Silence.

"You did go, didn't you?" Shiro questioned.

More silence.

"Keith..." Shiro sighed deeply.

"I didn't feel well" Keith simply answered as he flipped a page in his book.

"What was it this time?" Shiro raised a brow.

"Stomach pains" Keith mumbled. Keith had done that a lot lately. He had started to skip classes. Pretending to be sick to stay out of school or just staying home without their mom knowing. Shiro sometimes had to leave early in order to make it to his own morning classes. He did not always have the time to follow Keith to school.

"If it's that bad, perhaps we should take you to a doctor?" Shiro mumbled. Keith simply shrugged and ignored Shiro.

In most cases, one could call Keith a spoiled brat. But in reality, he was far from it. He was emotional, yes, but not a bad kid. He did well in school, despite skipping so many classes. His grades were good. Keith kept them good to make sure his mom would not nag him about it. Some days were better for Keith than others. Some days he would not mind eating breakfast with his family. Other days he would tell Shiro to get lost. He had started to fight with Shiro more often these days. Most times Shiro would pull it off as 'puberty' hitting Keith. But perhaps that was not the whole truth.

The truth was worse, but Shiro would not want to admit that. He was not refusing to acknowledge how much Keith was struggling. He simply just did not know how to help in any way. Shiro had tried talking to Keith's teachers, asking them nicely to keep an eye on Keith. They said they would, but they never reported back any good or bad news regarding Keith. Not even when Keith skipped an entire week of school. Almost as if they did not truly care rather he was there or not. By now more Galra families had moved to Altea. Shiro tried to take every opportunity to get Keith out of the house to meet people. Without luck of course.

Keith felt alone. For as long as he can remember, he had only had Shiro to talk to. When Shiro was not around, he would talk to Cosmo. Of course, Cosmo could not answer. He was always alone. School became harder and harder to deal with after the incident with the girl. The others knew he was different and never passed up the opportunity to make sure Keith knew. Nobody got close to him. They would laugh if he said something wrong in class, so he learned to never speak during class. They would push him on purpose and tell him to watch where he was going, even if he was not in the way. They would call him names, or in worst cases call him soulless because he did not pulse with anyone. School was hell for Keith, but he refused to bother his mom or Shiro with it. He convinced himself that he could handle it by himself. He could be like his mom. Like Shiro. Strong and capable. He just wanted to be like them. He tried. More often than anything, he failed.

 

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________**

 

At the age of 18, it could not be helped anymore. Keith had completely lost control. His daily life consisted of fighting with his mom, and now more than ever he would also fight with Shiro. He was not even living at this point. He was struggling to survive. He tried to block it all out, but no matter how hard he tried it was no good. It did not take long before his teachers labelled him a 'problem child'. They said he was disrupted, an inconvenience, that if he did not settle down he would be kicked out. They did not even try to understand him.

He wanted to push it all out, but how? He could not fight it anymore. He had put up with it for too long. He no longer cared. Problems at school, at home. Where was he supposed to go? At that point he let his emotions take over. He pushed away his mom, his brother. Anyone who tried to get too close. Lost and consumed by self-hate. He was nothing like Shiro. Nothing like his mom. He desperately wanted to get away, escape to a better place. A place where he could call home. A place where he felt safe. Safe to face another day but, that just does not happen in the real world.

Most evenings he could hear his mom cry in her room. Perhaps he was a problem child? Perhaps he could help everyone by leaving for good. At least that was his way of thinking. His mom would perhaps feel better if he simply was not there?

Keith was not a bad kid. He was just scared. Alone. Left to fight the world on his own, desperately wanting someone to care. Someone to love him despite not pulsing with them. It did not take long till he gave in to it all. He had become someone he hated. He no longer wanted to fight. He had accepted it. It was his fate. And just like he could end it.

Given the chance, he could have been great. But none of that mattered now, did it? It as too late already.

 

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

 

Another morning. Another day. Shiro and Keith walked down the street early in the morning. Keith had not picked a fight to avoid it this time. Shiro seemed content with not having to fight Keith again that morning. It gave him a little room to breathe. They walked together in silence. The bakery they usually got their bread from had closed. Apparently, the owners had moved away. So now Shiro went to a different bakery to get fresh bread. Keith wished he had known that before he agreed to come along. He did not feel like walking far. Shiro looked over at Keith. He had grown so much since he was 7. Naturally. But Keith was now almost as tall as him. His hair was much longer. Their mom had asked Keith to go to a hairdresser to get it cut, but he refused. That's how it went until their mom dragged him to get it cut. It never had the chance to grow too far. He would probably need to get it cut soon again. Keith had his hands in his pockets as always, and his eyes glued to the street. He barely ever looked up unless they had to cross a road.

Keith looked as they waited to cross a street. Usually, there was little to no traffic this early in the morning, but they waited at the stoplight anyway.

"Good morning boys!" Two voices sounded out in unison, causing Shiro to look in the direction. He smiled as his eyes met Allura and her younger brother Lance. Keith was not the only one who had grown. Lance had grown too. He was taller than Allura, but Allura was still older. Allura was actually quite small. Shiro was an entire head taller than her, and Lance was half a head taller than her. However, Keith was Half a head taller than Lance. The height difference between the Galra race and the Altean was quite funny. Allura was wearing a light yellow summer dress. Lance was wearing the traditional blue and white Altean outfit. Both outfits matched their now white coloured hair.

"Ah... Good morning Allura and Lance" Shiro greeted the two back. Keith tried to keep out of sight from the two Altean siblings. However, it was harder now that he was not as small as before. He turned his body slightly away and made sure to look the other way to avoid any contact with the Altean Siblings.

"Good morning Keith" Lance smiled and peaked over. For a moment Keith did not want to answer. He did not need to. That is till Shiro secretly poked his elbow into Keith in order to trigger an answer.

"Morning" Keith mumbled.

"Where are you heading today, boys?" Allura asked and smiled up at Shiro.

"The bakery. What about you two?" Shiro answered back with a polite smile.

"Oh, so are we" Lance cut in, "What a coincident"

"Mind if we walk with you?" Allura asked.

"Not at all, by all means," Shiro chuckled.

When they were finally allowed to cross the street, the four of them walked together to the bakery.


	2. A Throne Without Faith

A few days passed since Shiro and Keith met Lance and Allura. It was evening. For the first time in a while, it was actually raining outside. It was times like these, the warmth of home felt good and secure. However, that evening was a bad one. Keith was fighting with Shiro again. Their mom had just gotten home from work. She walked in to find her two sons fight, yet had no clue as to why they were fighting. The yelling alone was enough to make her worried.

"Perhaps if you just fucking left me alone!" Keith yelled.

"You're always alone! Nobody wants to be near you, Keith!" Shiro yelled back.

"Boys... Boys, please... Don't fight" Their mother put a hand on each of her two sons shoulders. Keith quickly pushed her hand off.

"Stay out of it mom, you're never home anyway! You don't even have time to bother thinking about us!" Keith yelled.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Shiro growled as he pushed Keith back slightly. At this point, Keith felt more threatened than anything. He pushed Shiro back slightly harder, before storming out of the house.

"Keith..." their mom yelled out for him, but to no avail. Keith had already left and slammed the door behind him. Shiro let out a deep frustrated sigh as he went upstairs to his own room.

"Shiro..." their mom called out for Shiro. Once again, to no avail. That's when she let herself sink down to sit on a tiny bench they had in the entrance. She covered her face with her hands and started sniffling. It was so hard for her to deal with it all. As a good parent, she tried her best to work through everything. She made sure that her two sons had food, shelter, and anything else they would need. But each day seemed like a battle for all three of them. She missed her soulmate. She missed having him around to connect all the ties. Needless to say that things were so much easier before he died. She missed him. God how she missed him so very much.

  
Keith pulled up his hood over his head so that his hair would not get too wet in the rain. He walked fast as if his anger alone fueled him to go far. He had no idea where he was going yet, he just wanted to get away. Sometimes that was all he could do. When things got too hard at home he would just leave. He would come back home the next morning, but his mother was always worried when he spent the night outside. Altea was peaceful and barely anything bad ever happened, but his mom was still worried. Keith knew she cared, and he knew Shiro cared. But at this point in time, it was too late for anything or anyone to help Keith. The rain made sure that the streets were less crowded. Yet Keith still chose to turn down a smaller street leading to the park. He had no plans on going to the park, but it seemed like the best place to breathe and relax for a moment. So automatically his feet took him there.

The park did not have many street lights, so most areas were darker. He scanned the playground to make sure he was alone. Of course, he was alone. Nobody in their right mind would go to the park on a rainy evening. He walked over to the swingset and settled himself down on one of the swings. He leaned his head against the metal chain holding up the swing and looked to the rainy darkened sky. The little raindrops on his face felt cold, yet oddly relaxing. As if the rain droplets were washing away the anger and the guilt he felt inside. Or perhaps they were washing him away. Away from this planet, and these people. Regardless of why they felt satisfying, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It did not take him long before he felt like he could finally think straight again. Like he could finally breathe.

"Keith??" A familiar voice brought Keith back to reality and out of a relaxed state of mind. Keith knew that voice. It was the voice of the last person he wanted to see or hear. It was the voice of Lance. Keith opened his eyes and looked over at the Altean boy. Lance had a fashionable blue cloak on and a scarf that covered his mouth. That is till he pulled the scarf down so he could actually speak. Keith should have taken that as the first hint that Lance was not gonna leave so soon.

"It is you! You do know it's raining, right?" Lance chuckled as he stepped closer to Keith.

"Oh really. I didn't even notice" Keith looked away. His voice sounded so uninterested in having any conversation with Lance.

"You didn't?! How could you not?!" Lance chuckled once again. His eyes looked around on the playground for a moment. There was nobody else there. It was dark, cold. Yet here he found Keith, alone, in the rain.

"You'll get sick if you're out in the rain..." Lance said as he looked over at Keith with a worried expression on his face.

"You better go home before you get sick than" Keith sighed.

"Are you worried about me? How sweet" Lance smiled brightly. Were all Alteans this slow? If Lance been of the Galra race, perhaps he had caught up on the idea that Keith had no interest in talking to him. The Alteans sure were naive like that. Lance always tried to strike up a conversation, even when Keith made sure to end it quite quickly. At some point, Lance would surely give up. Right?

"Keith... Are you alright?" Lance was now kneeled down beside the swing where Keith sat. Keith took notice of that and looked at the Altean boy, with clear annoyance.

"I'm fine."

"Oh yeah? Then why are you sitting in a dark park in the rain?" Lance smirked. He could be just as sarcastic as Keith when he wanted to. The Altean prided themselves with being nice and polite most of the time. However, Lance was not about to let Keith look down upon him.

After a moment of silence, Keith looked away. Lance stood back up on both his feet and settled himself down on the swing beside Keith. Keith quickly took notice of that as well and glared over at Lance. Lance, however, pretended not to notice as he smiled brightly at the Galra boy.

"Lance... Go home" Keith growled slightly annoyed.

"Will you tell me why you're out here alone? Instead of being at home, in the warmth, with some tea or dinner? It's about that time" Lance questioned as he kept his eyes on Keith.

"It's none of your business" Keith simply said as he got up from the swing and started heading away from the Altean boy. Lance was not one to give up so easily though.

Unlike Keith and many other people, Lance was different. He cared about most others before himself. His mom and dad were still a gem. He had his big sister Allura. Perhaps Keith despised him because of that. Because Keith knew how easy Lance had it. How popular he was and how happy his life was. However, nobody lived a fully happy life. Even Lance had struggles. None of which Keith would ever know of. Not that Keith would even try to understand.

"Ay wait a minute!" Lance called out and got up from the swing as well. He ran to catch up with Keith. Obviously, since Keith walked a little faster than Lance.

"Go home Lance" Keith growled once again. It was more of a warning now than anything.

"Keith, buddy..." Lance quickly took hold of Keith's arm tightly to pull Keith to a stop, "I know I may seem annoying right now... but not a lot of people wonder out in the dark. Not even the Galra. So I know something happened... won't you talk to me about it? Please."

Lance was persistent, to say the least, and perhaps it was so normal for him, that he did not even notice. Keith, however, did notice. He turned and looked back at Lance with wide eyes. Almost as if he had seen a ghost. His face wide with some sort of horror. Lance noticed that horror, which was also when he noticed the pulses.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Lance questioned. For Lance, it was natural to pulse. Lance was one of the few people who were always lucky enough to pulse with almost everyone he met in life.

"We are... You... How many times was that..." Keith struggled to find words. Up till now, he had never pulsed with a single person ever before. His shock of the moment was almost overwhelming.

"The pulses? I'm not sure... 8... 9..." Lance shrugged.

"10..." Keith said as the last pulse came through. He took a step back in shock. He felt overwhelmed, and the sudden feeling of pulses he had never felt before left him almost scared. Terrified.

Lance, on the other hand, stared at Keith for what seemed like the longest moment ever. Perhaps 30 seconds, but it felt almost like 30 years. At that moment it felt almost like the world around them had completely stopped. The most Lance had ever pulsed with another person was 8 times and that was with Hunk. Hunk was Lance's best friend. His mother and Hunk's mother were friends, and so naturally Lance and Hunk started hanging out. Now they were almost inseparable. Just like their mothers were happy to have each other, so was Lance and Hunk.

"I... I have to go" Keith said and with that, broke the train of thoughts going through Lance's head. It should have been a beautiful moment but just like that, it was over. Keith had let the fear get the best of him, and aimed to run away. He broke loose from Lance's grip on his arm and hurried away.

"Wait... Keith!... Keith!" Lance called out but to no avail. Keith was already hurrying away fast. Too fast for Lance to even think about catching up. Lance was left alone in the rain, in a dark park playground, staring the way Keith had run off to. He could probably have caught up with Keith, but he did not. He was still shocked. Since Lance was very little he had dreamed of finding his soulmate. That someone he would spend the rest of his life with. Someone who he could share good and bad times with. For better or for worse.

His mom had often told him to keep his expectation low. Soulmates were rare after all. But Lance never did. He knew he would find his soulmate someday. Now that he finally did, he could find no words to match his current mood. Just as it had been overwhelming for Keith to feel soul pulses for the first time, it was also overwhelming for Lance to finally find his soulmate. He stared down at his hand which had held onto Keith's arm only moments ago. It took a moment to process. However, when it finally came through, a wide flustered smile spread across Lance's face. With his other hand, he traced his fingers over the hand that had touched Keith's arm. By now the rain and the darkness were not even enough to bother Lance anymore. He skipped home, happily, with a flustered smile permanently plastered onto his face. For Lance, it had been a good evening. None of it had been planned but he was so happy it happened.

Keith, however, was far from thrilled. He had run away from the park and from Lance as fast as his Galra feet could carry him. Far away from the park, and away from Lance. Being far enough away he hid away by a wall. He leaned against the wall and with his two hands covering his mouth in shock. A few tears escaped the corner of his eyes. He was not sad or upset. He was overwhelmed. Naturally, anyone like Keith would be. For someone who had never pulsed with a single person his entire life, he suddenly pulsed with someone as weird and persistent as Lance. It was almost too much for Keith's heart and mind to handle. He struggled hard to comprehend the situation he had suddenly found himself in. What did all of this mean? What could he do now? What should he do now? Should he perhaps go on about his life as he always had? Should he speak to Lance about the situation? Keith was at a loss.

In a hopeless attempt to shake away the confusion and thoughts that seemed to attack him from every direction, he found himself wandering around the city for the rest of the night.

 

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________**

 

The first ray of sunlight on Altea came fast that morning. Almost as if the planet itself knew what a beautiful day it was going to be. After some rain, came the sunshine. And what a busy day it was. Keith held his head low as he walked down the street on his way home. He had been out all night, wandering around. He probably looked tired, and if anyone had seen him during the night, he probably had looked like a lost puppy. The Altean streets were alive despite it being so early. Everyone was out and about so early in the morning. They greeted each other. Shops opened up early. And kids were out playing in the remaining puddles of water left by the rain.

Keith gently pushed open the door to his house. There was no doubt that Shiro was awake already. He was always the first one to be awake. He closed the door behind him and took off his shoes. He hung up his sleeveless hoodie to let it dry off. It was wet from being out in the rain most of the night. He peeked into the kitchen only to see Shiro by the stove. Shiro quickly took notice of Keith.

"Fancy seeing you home. Did you have a good run?" Shiro said. However, his voice was cold. Keith took notice of that quick, and it made him narrow his eyes in annoyance.

"Good morning Keith" A female voice echoed from the other side of the kitchen. Allura was sitting by the dinner table with a cup of tea in her hands. A smile as bright as the first-morning sunlight on her face. Keith's expression turned confused as he looked at Allura.

"Morning... Allura... What are you doing here so early?" Keith asked, before going to the fridge to grab some breakfast.

"I ran into Shiro on my way to the store... I was gonna get some soup for Lance but Shiro insisted on making some" Allura chuckled. The minor mention of Lance twisted Keith's head into a million thoughts. Keith only hoped that Lance had not mentioned the episode from last night to anyone.

"Lance is sick" Shiro simply said as he looked over at Keith.

"Can you imagine... He took so long to get back home last night. He probably got sick from staying out in the rain for too long" Allura chuckled again. Keith looked at Shiro with a glare for a moment, but Allura's chuckle brought Keith's attention to her.

"He's sick?..." Keith questioned, "I hope... he feels better soon" Keith mumbled. Despite pulsing with Lance, he did not feel any different about Lance. He still saw Lance as a persistent Altean playboy.

"Here you go Allura" Shiro broke the silence in the kitchen as he poured some steaming chicken soup into a bowl before handing it to Allura. Allura brought her now empty cup over to Shiro and they exchanged items.

"Thank you so much, Shiro... it's so sweet of you to go through all that trouble. I'm sure he'll be very thankful" Allura smiled brightly. Shiro rubbed the back of his neck and smiled.

"It's nothing. It's the least I can do to help out" Shiro chuckled nervously.

Keith watched the two interact, but for once he actually watched them with interest. He could not help but wonder if Allura and Shiro had pulsed as well. Perhaps if they pulsed, it would explain why he had pulsed with Lance. He blinked a few times at the sight of Allura touching Shiro's shoulder as they spoke. If they had pulsed, how many times did they pulse? Keith had never been interested in something as trivial as that, but now he was. He might ask Shiro about it later. Keith casually sipped on a juice box as he watched Shiro follow Allura to the door and say goodbye. After Allura had left, Shiro poked his head back into the kitchen. He leaned against the doorway and watched Keith patiently. Keith took another sip of his juice box before looking over at Shiro. Shiro's face was filled with clear annoyance at the mere sight of Keith.

"What is it?" Keith mumbled before once again sipping his juice box.

"What? You aren't gonna apologize?" Shiro questioned.

"Apologise for what?" Keith mumbled as he went to the trashcan and threw out the now empty juice box.

"For being a complete dick yesterday" Shiro growled. So Shiro was still angry about the argument they had last night. No wonder.

"Why would I do that" Keith huffed and went to the fridge to find something to eat. He was hungry after running around an entire night. He did not even have dinner last night.

"You're really doing this, aren't you Keith..." Shiro growled as he stepped closer to Keith.

"Get off my back Shiro. As if you're a little saint yourself" Keith growled. As if the evening before and the entire night had been confusing enough, now Shiro was on his back as well. Keith was starting to hate home more and more.

"I'm not, but at least I don't go around attacking our mom who works so hard to spoil us, and give us everything we need," Shiro said, now in a much louder tone. It was not quite yelling yet, but it was close enough to trigger Keith.

"Oh yeah, You're such a saint, aren't you?!... She's never here!" Keith slammed the fridge door as he yelled.

"What do you care! You're never here either! Always hiding away in your room!" Shiro yelled back this time. It was so early in the morning and the two of them were already in an argument.

"Yeah well, perhaps it would be better if I wasn't here! I never asked to be here! I never asked to be on this stupid planet or with those stupid people! I never asked to be born! If it will make it so much easier for you all, I'll just jump off a building next time I'm out!!" Keith screamed at Shiro.

Shiro's expression quickly turned into a shocked one. He already knew Keith had is hard. He knew Keith hated himself and his life but never had Keith ever admitted to something like that. Never had Keith given any signs nor indicated that he wanted to end his own life. Shiro had no idea how to handle the situation, so all he could really do was stare at Keith in shock.

"Keith..." Shiro mumbled as he stepped towards Keith. It was to no use. Keith already pushed himself past Shiro and headed up to his room. Shiro watched as Keith once again locked himself into his room. A sad, yet guilty sigh escaped Shiro's mouth.

Shiro was desperately dreaming, hoping for the day all of this would blow over. When they were children, they were so close. Once in a while, Shiro would wonder if moving to Altea had been the right choice for them all. Everything seemed to have gone wrong since they moved there. Deep down Shiro knew that life was not going to continue like this forever. But he desperately wished for someone or something to come and help his little brother. For a little miracle to show Keith that life was better than what he made it out to be. Heaven knows they could all use that tiny miracle to come and save them.

 

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________**

 

In a completely different place in the city. Allura knocked on a slightly bigger wooden door, before gently pushing it open.

"Good morning Lance. Are you hungry?" Allura smiled as she walked over to Lance who was laying in bed, sniffling.

"I'm dying!" Lance cried out as he slowly tried to sit up.

"No, you're not. It's just a tiny flu" Allura placed the still warm bowl of chicken soup on the table beside Lance's bed.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm dying... This is death... Death is coming for me" Lance cried out. The flu usually hit men a little harder than women. Allura chuckled as she went over to the windows in Lance's room. She pulled away the curtains to let some sunlight in.

"Eat some chicken soup and you'll be as good as new in no time" Allura smiled as she tied the curtains up with ribbons.

"You made chicken soup?" Lance questioned as he looked over at the bowl.

"No... Shiro did, so be sure to thank him next time you see him" Allura smiled as she looked over at Lance.

"You met Shiro? And Keith?" Lance's entire face lit up with a smile as he took the bowl and looked over at Allura.

"I met Shiro on the way to the store, and he insisted on making you some soup. Keith came home a bit after," Allura chuckled, "Did you know Keith runs in the morning?" Allura questioned as he smiled.

"No... I didn't..." Lance smiled another flustered smile as he looked down at the bowl of chicken soup.

"Keith did say he hope you feel better soon" Allura smiled as she finished tieing up the curtains. She then opened a window slightly.

"He did?... Thanks.." Lance chuckled happily as he looked down at his soup with a bright smile plastered on his lips.

"You suddenly look cured of all illness. Did something happen while I was away?" Allura folded her arms over her chest as she watched Lance.

"You can say that" Lance chuckled nervously and ate a spoonful of the chicken soup. It tasted pretty good. Lance had not expected that.

"Oh please do tell! Now I'm interested!" Allura said as she sat down on the fancy diwan at the end of Lance's bed.

"I... I pulsed with Keith..." Lance said in a cute flustered tone as he took another scoop of the chicken soup.

"Lance you pulse with everyone!" Allura sighed with a slight chuckle. It was clear that she had been expecting more exciting news than that.

"10 times..." Lance started to chuckle as he looked up at his ceiling. Allura looked over at Lance, this time much more excited than before. Her exciting squeals as her hands covered her mouth made Lance more flustered. He covered his face with his empty hand to cover his now red cheeks. It was embarrassing to admit, but it was special to him. Since he got home the evening before he had been on a hype rush which was hard to come down from. He had re-played the situation over and over again in his head, and each time left him more and more happy-go-lucky.

"You pulsed with Keith 10 times?! Are you sure!?" Allura sat up on her knees on the diwan. Her body bounced up and down a few times. She was clearly so very excited.

"That means he's your soulmate, Lance!! You found your soulmate!! We have to tell mom and dad!!" Allura giggled and clapped her hands together.

"I know!" Lance looked up at Allura, now as excited as she was. Allura had yet not met her soulmate despite being older than Lance. She was a good sister though. She had always looked after Lance and made sure he grew up to be strong like herself. Their parents had always made sure that they never needed anything.

Lance and his family lived in a bigger house. It was nothing like the smaller apartment Keith and his family lived in. Lance and Allura's house had been there for centuries and the two siblings had lived there with their parents since they had been born. It was bigger, it was fancier. Not that their parents were rich or anything like that. But their parents were together. They were a gem. So they had a combined functional economy to provide for the family. They had a little royal blood in their veins, but they did not take notice of it.

"Do you think mom and dad will accept it?" Lance finally asked, his expression had turned more worried now, "Since ya know... He's Galra..."

"Of course they will... Soulmates are special. You can choose that! Besides, we have lived peacefully with the Galra for generations now. There is no way they would be against it" Allura said so matter-of-factly.

"I hope so" Lance let out a slightly worried, but happy sigh. He took another spoonful of the chicken soup. He could feel the hotness of the soup slide down his throat. He wanted to feel better as soon as possible. He wanted to go deliver the bowl to Shiro in person, so he could see Keith again. Allura could not help but let out another girly scream muffled into her hands. She was excited for her little brother.

Soulmates were special. Being a gem was special. Keith was special. At least very special to Lance. At this point, there was nothing in the world Lance rather do than see Keith. To connect with Keith. Lance could already imagine it all. A world where they would be together, be happy. Cuddle together. Hold hands. Go on dates. Travel together. To love Keith, and to have Keith love him back. He wanted to experience everything with Keith.

Lance would personally see to that Keith would never be alone ever again.


End file.
